Banana and Chocolate Chip Bread, from Clair

1/2 c. butter
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. white sugar
1 egg
1 TB sour cream (or mayo)
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. chocolate chips (I used milk, but semi-sweet is fine - you can also sub out 1/3 c. of chocolate chips for nuts of your choice)

1. Pre-heat oven to 350. Grease & flour a 9x5 baking dish. Instead of flour, I actually dusted it with cinnamon.

2. Cream together the sugar and butter in a large bowl. Add the egg & stir well. Add the sour cream (or mayo), bananas and vanilla and mix well.

3. In another bowl combine the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture & stir just enough to combine all the ingredients evenly.

5. Fold in the chocolate chips. Pour batter into the baking dish and cook for about 60-70 minutes. If the top starts to brown too quickly, you can cover it with foil about half way through baking.

Cara's Beef Buns, from Cara

Bun Recipe:
2T yeast
1c plus 2T warm water
1/3c oil
1/4c sugar
1 egg
1t salt
3 - 3 1/2c flour

Dissolve yeast in water. Add oil and sugar and let rest for 5 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients to form a soft dough. Knead dough for 3-5 minutes. Divide into 8 pieces and form into balls. Let rest on ungreased pan for 10 minutes. Bake 8-12 minutes.

For the flour I used 1/2 cup of toasted wheat germ, 1 cup of wheat flour, and 1 1/2 - 2 cups of white flour.

It was the lightest, softest dough when I was kneading it. OMG, so nice. They were so tasty, too.

Baguette, from Kris

375 grams bread flour
90 grams all purpose flour
2 tsp yeast (I use red star active dry)
1 tsp sugar
1 TBSP sea salt
2 TBSP olive oil
1 1/4 cup warm water (approx. 115 degrees)

In mixing bowl (I actually 'heat' my mixing bowl by inverting it and running under hot water for a minute or two so that the water for the yeast doesn't cool down so much to not activate the yeast) combine the water, sugar and yeast. Allow to sit for 7 - 10 minutes for yeast to activate. Once yeast is activated, add remaining ingredients and combine with wooden spoon until mixture is sort of together into one mass. I use my electric mixer with dough hook and knead the dough for 10 minutes on level 2. In first 2 minutes I add more flour or water if necessary. Turn dough ball out onto lightly floured surface and knead by hand for additional minute or two - try not to work any additional flour into dough ball (dough will be sticky). Form into tight ball and place into greased glass bowl, brushing the top of the dough ball lightly with olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and place in warm dry area for 2 hours or until doubled in size (one technique I read about and I use is turn the oven to 450 degrees for 25 seconds, then turn oven off. Place bowl with dough ball into the slightly warmed oven). After dough has doubled in size, punch down to release trapped bubbles, knead gently on a lightly floured surface for a minute or two, then form into 2 baguettes (or 4 small torpedo rolls), place both onto lightly greased cookie sheet. I can't really explain how to form the baguettes, best I can suggest is to look on you tube for how to instruactions on forming baguettes. Optionally you can sprinkle a little corn meal onto the lightly greased cookie sheet before putting the baguettes on it. Cover baguettes with towel and allow to rise a second time for about 20 or 30 minutes. Just enough time to get the oven preheated to 425 degrees.

Just before putting the bread into the oven, spray the sides and bottom of your oven with water in a spray bottle. About 5 sprays each. The more humid air is supposed to lend itself to a crispier crust. Bake for a total of 12 - 15 minutes. After each 5 minutes of baking, spray the sides and bottom of oven again. Bread is done when it is browned all around and sounds 'hollow' when tapped on the underside. Let rest for 5 or 10 minutes before slicing.

Soft Onion Breadsticks, suggested by Stephanie

I'm making these but as sub rolls instead of breadsticks.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Soft-Onion-Breadsticks/Detail.aspx

We have sweet italian sausage to put on them.

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F to 115 degrees F)
• 1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds

DIRECTIONS

1. In a skillet, saute onion in oil until tender; cool. In a large mixing bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add the milk, 1 egg, butter, sugar, salt, 1 egg and 1 cup flour. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Stir in onion and enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Let stand for 10 minutes. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 32 pieces. Shape each piece into an 8-in. rope. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes.
4. Beat cold water and remaining egg; brush over breadsticks. Sprinkle half with sesame seeds and half with poppy seeds. Bake at 350 degrees F for 16-22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks.

Update: Well the bread was pretty awesome.I cooked the sausages this morning (on med-low, they take a long time) and then sauteed the onions in a little of the grease/olive oil from the sausages. The recipe has a typo and calls for 1 egg individually twice then an eggwash. I used one egg total and skipped the wash, bread flour instead of all purpose (needed an extra 1/2 cup) and only added the onions after kneading in the mixer. It took FOR. EVER. to rise because I wanted to leave it in the mixing bowl and the bowl was stuck on the mixer which is not as warm as, say, next to the oven or a heat vent. Plus my yeast was slightly old. Anyway, it still came out great. Yay.

Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese, suggested by Rachael

Croque Monsieur Mac and Cheese
from Food Network Magazine

Ingredients
1/2 pound ziti
2 cups milk
2 cups coarsely grated gruyere cheese (about 6 ounces)
1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)
2 large eggs
3 slices white sandwich bread, roughly diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for greasing
1 medium onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Kosher salt
8 ounces thinly sliced deli-boiled ham (I am using diced ham instead)


Directions
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the ziti and cook until al dente, about 6 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; toss with 1/4 cup milk.

Meanwhile, combine both cheeses in a bowl. Beat 1/4 cup milk and the eggs in another bowl; fold in the bread and add half of the cheese.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over high heat. Add the onion and garlic; cook, stirring, until just brown, 2 minutes. Sprinkle in the flour, cayenne, nutmeg and 1 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Slowly add 3/4 cup water and the remaining 1 1/2 cups milk; bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Remove from the heat and whisk to cool slightly. Whisk in the remaining cheese, then add the pasta and toss.

Butter a shallow casserole dish. Add half of the pasta, top with some of the ham and cover with the remaining pasta. Top with the remaining ham, then cover with the bread mixture. Bake until golden and bubbly, about 20 minutes. Let rest a few minutes before serving.

"Better than Frozen" Garlic Bread, from Kris

Slice open a loaf of French bread lengthwise - apply butter. Bake then when still hot, rub with fresh garlic cloves. It's just as easy as the frozen and sooooo much better!

Suggested by Rachael - Vaquero Steaks with pepper relish and goat cheese and Chimichurri Bread

Another Cuisine at Home recipe.

Vaquero Steaks with pepper relish and goat cheese and Chimichurri Bread.

Steaks:

3 teaspoons brown sugar
1.5 teaspoons each: paprika, cumin, oregano, black pepper
salt to taste
4 sirloin steaks

Prepare grill to high. Combine brown sugar and seasonings in a small bowl; transfer 1/4 teaspoon of the mixture to a large bowl for the pepper relish. Rub remaining mixture over steaks and set aside until ready to grill.

Relish:

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 each: red pepper, yellow pepper roasted, seeded and diced
1/4 cup scallions, sliced
1/4 goat cheese, crumbled

Whisk vinegar, Dijon, and sugar together with spices in the bowl. Drizzle in oil, whisking constantly, until blended. Add peppers and scallion, toss to blend.

Grill steaks on both sides to desired doneness. Remove from grill, let rest five minutes, serve with relish and goat cheese.

Bread:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 tablespoon Parmesan, grated
1/2 teaspoon each: oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes
2 garlic cloves, minced
salt to taste
1 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 baguette, halved horizontally

Preheat grill to high. Mash butter, Parmesan, herbs, pepper flakes, garlic, and salt together in a bowl. Stir in parsley. Spread butter over cut sides of baguette, then grill, buttered side down until toasted.

Fresh Bread and Breadcrumbs, by Jenifer

It all starts with the bread. I bake our own breads and will use the ends or last slices of any loaf. I really like the recipes from this website:

http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipe/category.php?cid=1

I have tried MANy of them...but this is my favorite:

http://www.bobsredmill.com/recipe/detail.php?rid=511

That said, for this recipe we had crumbs from this loaf:

( got this from some website, I think called mealmaster)


Multi Grain Bread:
1/4 oz (2 1/4 tsps) yeast
1 tlb sugar
2 c whole wheat flour
3/4 c rye flour
3/4 c wheat germ
3/4 c unprocessed bran
1/2 c dry milk
1/2 c sunflower seeds
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1 3/4 c boiling water
1/2 c bulgur
1/2 c 7 grain mix (I get this from whole foods- you could use millet or even a 7 grain cereal)
1 tb molasses
1 1/2 tbl oil (original calls for safflower but I have used olive, grape seed, etc)

~Combine boiling water with cracked wheat, 7-grain mixture, molasses and oil. Cool to room temperature.
~Add first 10 ingredients in the order listed to the pan, pour in cooled grain mixture, select white bread and press "Start".
~For a milder taste, use honey instead of molasses.
NOTE: Unless otherwise noted all ingredients should be at room temperature. This can be mixed on manual of the bread machine. After Second kneading, remove dough from machine, divide into to equal portions and place in small loaf pans.
~Cover and let rise to double, about 45 min to 1 hour.
~Bake at 350 f. for 35-40 min.

I do the whole thing in my bread machine.


Once I have the bread (not stale bread- just not FRESH- you want it when it is dry, not stale) if it is not dry I dry it in the oven. You can do this by laying the slices on a baking sheet in a SINGLE layer (leave a bit of room between the pieces) and baking at 300 for 10- 15 minutes. Be sure to flip them over about halfway through for even drying. Be sure to let them cool before you make the crumbs. here is the easy part- tear into small pieces and whir in your food processor (I leave mine in a coarse state- that way if I need them more fine- as I did for this recipe I can regrind at that time- but if I need them coarse (as when I stuff peppers) they are all set ) I do not season them so that they can be seasoned at the time of use. If you do not have a food processor, you can always use a hand grater (or my frriend tells me she put the tasted slices in a ziploc and rolled glass over them until they were crumbs). These can be stored in a jar, a ziploc in the fridge or even frozen....

Apples and Cheese Sandwich, by Allison

Get yourself a loaf of french bread (multigrain if you can), split it in half lengthwise and toast it under the broiler. Smear tarragon mayo on one side and on the other side you want thinly sliced apples and cheddar cheese. Toast again until the cheese is melted, then throw some watercress on it, put the two halves together, cut in three pieces and serve.

Scallops and Pasta Florentine, an idea from Amy

Dinner:

frozen scallops (sorry all you seafood purists...it's hard to come by here in this landlocked state, and expensive as hell)

garlic (smushed. what? that's an official cooking term, no?)

green onions-chopped

spinach--cooked so it's wilty

angel hair pasta

defrost scallops

*saute scallops in evoo with garlic, season with salt and pepper and whatever else you want. it's a free country!

*while sauteing, cook angel hair. i used a combo of whole grain (it scares me) and regular. the whole grain, not so bad!

*when scallops are almost done, toss in spinach and onions

*for a sauce, i melted some butter and squeezed in some lemon juice. it was meh. it needed more butter.

*pour drained pasta into pan w/scallops and toss w/lemon butter

I served it with some cheesy bread.

It wasn't too bad. I'd do more butter, spinach and onions next time.

Basil Oil & Avocado Bruschetta, from Sue

Basil oil & Avocado Bruschetta:

mix olive oil w/ fresh minced basil, salt, pepper, blue cheese. Spread over slices of toasted french baguette. Mash avocado on top and serve. YUMMMYYY!!

Pasta with Meat Sauce and Garlic Bread, from Cara

Pasta with Meat sauce:
1 whole boneless chicken breast
1 pound ground beef
1/4 pound pepperoni
Italian seasoning
S & P
fresh basil and garlic
olive oil
2 cans crushed tomatoes

I cover the bottom of my stock pot with the olive oil, just a thin layer. Once it is warm, I add the minced garlic (3 cloves), Italian seasoning (who knows how much), and some fresh chopped basil (you decide how much you want, I guess I used about 1/4 cup). Then I put in the chicken (which I have sprinkled with the S & P) and beef, and cook that thoroughly. Remove the chicken and add the cans of tomato. Shred up semi-cooled chicken with fingers and add back to the pot, add pepperoni and additional 1/4 cup of basil or so and more Italian seasoning and S & P as needed. Tonight it cooked for about 2 hours on the stove on low. It was yummy served with campanelle type pasta noodles, they are cute.

Garlic bread... 1 softened stick of butter mixed up with 3 minced cloves of garlic and some parsley. Spread over sliced store-bought Italian bread and broiled in the toaster oven.

Pizza dough from Allison

This makes enough for two pizzas that fit on baking sheets, although people's tastes in thickness and other things vary, so see what it does for you. Feel free to alter it -- I make it a bit differently every time and pizzas seem to taste completely different when I leave dough and stuff for the sitter, I don't know why. For sauce I just open an 8 oz can of tomato sauce, pour it in a small skillet, dump some oregano onto it and let it bubble until it looks like pizza sauce to me.

Pizza Dough

2 1/4 tsp yeast (or one packet -- I just buy my yeast in a jar)
1 1/3 cup warm water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups + of all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour (the best, in my opinion, is the King Arthur white whole wheat if you can get it....that stuff rocks! I don't have a reliable source because I'm too lazy to mail-order it.)
2 Tbsp + of olive oil

Put the yeast and sugar together in the warm water, stir and wait for it to "bloom."

Mix the rest of the ingredients in (if it's too wet, add more AP flour, not more WW -- I find that if I go above 50% WW it messes with the texture too much for my taste) and knead for about 10 minutes. At this point I spray with canola oil, put a moist dish towel over the large bowl it's going to rise in, and put the dough somewhere warm for at least an hour. My favorite spot is in the microwave with the door ajar....Then I split in half and spread it into pizza rounds on baking sheets that have been dusted with cornmeal.

I cook my pizzas for about 9 minutes at 475 degrees F.